THE Fifth and final PRODUCTION
OF ITS 35TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON!
JACQUES BREL
IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS
Production Conception, English
Lyrics, & Additional Material by Eric Blau & Mort Shuman
Based on Jacques Brel's Lyrics & Commentary
Music by Jacques Brel
Limited Engagement opens Saturday,
April 10
at The Colony Theatre in Burbank!
March 9, 2010...Burbank...The
Colony Theatre Company presents the fifth and final production of its
35th anniversary season, the unforgettable JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND
WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS, production conception, English lyrics,
& additional material by Eric Blau & Mort Shuman, based on
Jacques Brel's lyrics & commentary with music by Jacques Brel,
musical direction by Brent Crayon and directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera.
JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS will preview on
Wednesday, April 7; Thursday, April 8 and Friday, April 9 at 8:00pm and
will open on Saturday, April 10 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday,
May 9 at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street (at Cypress)
adjacent to the Burbank Town Center.
In 2006, this forgotten treasure of musical theatre was rediscovered
in New York, and now it returns triumphantly to Los Angeles where it
hasn't been seen in years. The genius of Jacques Brel is beautifully
captured in this brilliant collection of timeless songs - songs of
passionate desire and heartbreak, of youthful exuberance and
world-weariness, of joyful hope and forgotten dreams. As fresh and
poignant as ever, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well ... reflects
the full scope of what it means to be alive, where every song is a
story.
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
JON LAWRENCE RIVERA (Director) is making his Colony debut.
Mr. Rivera just directed Oedipus El Rey by Luis Alfaro at the
Theatre @ Boston Court (and its original 2008 workshop at the Getty
Villa). Other recent works include The Last Five Years by Jason
Robert Brown (with an Asian-American cast at East West Players), Miss
Saigon by Schönberg/Boublil, Ruby, Tragically Rotund by
Boni B. Alvarez, Laws Of Sympathy by Oliver Mayer, The Joy
Luck Club by Susan Kim, Sea Change by Nick Salamone (2009
LA Weekly Award for Direction), The Third From The Left by Jean
Colonomos (2008 NY Fringe Festival), Hillary Agonistes by Nick
Salamone (2007 NY Fringe Festival Award for Outstanding Direction), Havana
Bourgeois by Carlos Lacamara (2008 GLAAD nomination), Dogeaters
by Jessica Hagedorn (Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre), Conjunto
by Oliver Mayer, References To Salvador Dali Make Me Hot by
Jose Rivera, the Sondheim/Lapine musical Into The Woods, and Barefoot
Boy With Shoes On by Edwin Sanchez. A four-time Ovation Award
nominee, he is the founding artistic director of Playwrights' Arena,
and his productions have garnered over 100 local and international
awards.
BRENT CRAYON (Musical Director) has had the privilege of
working with such notable artists as Stephen Schwartz, Daisy Prince,
Scott Schwartz, Chen Shi-Zheng, Kay Cole, and Richard Maltby, and he is
thrilled to be working once again with Jon Lawrence Rivera. Favorite
productions include the West Coast premieres of Songs for a New
World and Tick, Tick...BOOM! and the world premiere
productions of Stephen Schwartz's Snapshots and John Bucchino's
It's Only Life. An accomplished and multi-faceted musician,
Brent has been a featured soloist in ensembles throughout Southern
California, including Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra, the Long Beach
Symphony Orchestra, and the Ventura Chamber Orchestra.
ABOUT THE CAST AND DESIGN TEAM
EILEEN BARNETT (Woman #1) appeared on Broadway playing Luisa
Contini (the wife) in Tommy Tune's Tony Award-winning musical Nine,
and she starred in the national tour of Broadway's Footloose.
She also had the great pleasure of appearing at The Colony Theatre (on
Riverside Drive) in the Los Angeles premiere of Putting It Together.
Other Los Angeles area theatre appearances include the Havok Theatre
Company's Ovation Award-winning Kiss of the Spider Woman, The
Wild Party at the Blank, Fiddler On The Roof at the
Rubicon, and Radio Gals at the Pasadena Playhouse. As a member
of Musical Theatre Guild, Eileen performed the role of Fosca in the
critically acclaimed West Coast premiere of Stephen Sondheim's Passion.
Other leading roles with MTG include Street Scene, Rags
and Lady In The Dark. On TV, guest starring credits include Brothers
and Sisters, E.R., Southland, Gilmore Girls,
and Frasier. Soap fans may remember her as the evil Stephanie
Woodruff on Days of Our Lives. Eileen performs her cabaret act
in New York and Los Angeles where she recorded her CD, Eileen
Barnett, Live at the Cinegrill.
ZACHARY FORD (Man #2) was most recently seen in Pasadena
Playhouse's Camelot directed by David Lee. He'd ventured to
Camelot once before when he spent most of 2008 covering Sir Robin, Sir
Lancelot, Sir Galahad, and Sir Bedevere in Monty Python's Spamalot
at the Wynn Casino in Las Vegas. Shortly thereafter he made his Los
Angeles debut in Little Women at the Lyric Theatre. Recent
workshops of new musicals include Bubbleboy, iGhost, College
Rhythm, Señorita Matador, and The Roxy. Chicagoans
will remember Zachary from roles at The Apple Tree Theatre, The
Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre,
TimeLine, and Porchlight. Notable performances in Chicago include A
Man Of No Importance (Mid-West premiere at The Apple Tree Theatre)
and Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein by Liza
Gennaro, Stephen Flaherty, and Frank Galati (World Premiere at the
Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art with About Face Theatre; cast
recording on Jay Records). He was also a recurring medical technician
on Passions and has been seen in several national commercials.
GREGORY FRANKLIN (Man #1) recently appeared in the
critically-acclaimed world premiere of Divorce! The Musical
(Best Ensemble Ovation Nomination and Best Supporting Actor in a
Musical Ticket Holder Award). He went on to appear in Light in the
Piazza at the El Portal Theatre followed by the
critically-acclaimed American Premiere of F*cking Men at
Celebration Theatre. In 2008, after completing a run of the
award-winning production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in
Chicago, he returned to Los Angeles to perform in Jacques Brel: A
Life in Song (Best Cabaret Ensemble Ticket Holder Award),
translated and directed by Peter Mellencamp. Chicago theatre highlights
include Galileo (Goodman Theatre), Kabuki Medea (Wisdom
Bridge), Chicago and Grant Park Symphonies as a vocalist, and Ensemble
Espanol as a company dancer. Other recent southern California credits
include Glengarry Glen Ross (Egyptian), Twentieth Century
(Lillian Theatre), Wild About Harry (Crown City Theatre), The
Winter's Tale (A Noise Within), Man of La Mancha (A Noise
Within, Best Supporting Actor Ticket Holder Award), Joan of Arc
(The Lobero) and The Boys From Syracuse (Crown City Theatre,
Garland Citation). Additional theatres include Actors Alley, Actor's
Company, Long Beach Studio, Welk Resort, Southern Arizona Light Opera,
California Music Theatre Broadway Series, Jewel Box, Theatre Geo,
Inside The Ford, Ark, and Whitefire. In 2005, Gregory performed at the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival under producer Jon Lawrence Rivera and
continues to tour with The Roger Wagner Chorale to Japan. He has been a
recurring sketch player for Talk Show With Spike Feresten.
Other screen credits include House, Mad Men, Samantha
Who?, Close To Home, Ghost Hunters: Point of Contact,
Friendly Fire, Pure Love, and Power Poison.
JENNIFER SHELTON (Woman #2) has had the pleasure of touring
the country with the 1st National Company of Ragtime (Livent
Inc.) and performing with such companies as The Hollywood Bowl
Orchestra/LA Philharmonic, CLO of South Bay Cities, Laguna Playhouse,
McCoy Rigby, and Sacramento's Music Circus. She's also a frequent
headliner at The Carpenter Center, Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, and
Pacific Southwest Symphony. Favorite credits include Songs for a
New World, Five Course Love, The Story (Yvonne), Honk!
(Maureen/Queenie), and Swinging on a Star for
International City Theatre; Kiss of the Spider Woman (Spider
Woman), It's a Bird ... Superman! (Lois Lane), As Thousands
Cheer, and Do Re Mi (Tilda) for Musical Theatre Guild; And
Miss Reardon Drinks a Little (Ceil) and A Raisin in the Sun (Ruth)
for CCAP; Man of La Mancha (Aldonza) for the Rubicon; Into
the Woods (Cinderella) for Lamb's Players; Disney's Beauty
and the Beast (Belle), Ragtime (Sarah) and Hello,
Dolly! (Irene Molloy) for Moonlight Amphitheatre; Hot Mikado
(Yum-Yum) and World Goes 'Round for Musical Theatre West;
Rosemary in How to Succeed... for Starlight; and Sarah in Guys
and Dolls. Jennifer is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association
and Musical Theatre Guild.
JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS has
assembled an award-winning design team. The Scenic Design is by John H.
Binkley. The Lighting Design is by Adam Blumenthal. The Costume Design
is by Dianne K. Graebner. The Sound Design is by Cricket S. Myers. Prop
Design is by Colony Theatre resident designers MacAndME.
ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING
JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS will
open on Saturday, April 10 and perform through Sunday, May 9, 2010.
Performances for JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS are
Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm and 7:00pm.
There will be additional performances on Saturdays, April 17 and April
24 at 3pm & Thursdays, April 29 and May 6 at 8pm. (No 7 pm
performance on April 11).
Ticket prices range from $37.00 - $42.00 (student, senior and group
discounts are available). JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN
PARIS will preview on Wednesday, April 7; Thursday, April 8 and Friday,
April 9 at 8:00pm. Preview Tickets are $20.00 - $25.00. Opening night
performance with reception - all tickets $50.00. There are
question-and-answer talkbacks after the performances on Friday, April
16, and Thursday, April 29. For tickets, call the Colony Theatre Box
Office at 818/558-7000 ext. 15 or online at www.colonytheatre.org.
For
more information, press interviews, photos or for press comps,
please contact David Elzer/DEMAND PR at 818/508-1754 or at ELZERD@aol.com or
visit www.demandpr.com.
The
award-winning Colony Theatre Company is Burbank's premiere professional
theatre. It was voted "Best Live Theatre in L.A." in The Daily News
2006 Readers' Choice poll, and has been named one of "25 Notable U.S.
Theatre Companies" by Encyclopedia Britannica Almanac for 6 years in a
row.
The
Colony Theatre Company is a 35-year old organization dedicated
to bringing the finest-quality theatrical productions to Los Angeles.
The theatre is located at 555 North Third Street, at the corner of
Cypress, in the heart of Downtown Burbank. For further information,
call (818) 558-7000. Fax: (818) 558-7110. E-mail:
colonytheatre@colonytheatre.org. Or visit our website at www.colonytheatre.org